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Ardith is a Priestess of Andritha the Mother. She is also one of an exceedingly rare few with access to Andrithan magic. | Ardith is a Priestess of Andritha the Mother. She is also one of an exceedingly rare few with access to Andrithan magic. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | // This is Ardith' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith was born and raised in a mid-sized village in southern Rang, | ||
+ | on the knees of the Koril Mountains. The principal occupation in the | ||
+ | region is black-dirt farming in the valley and sheep herding on the | ||
+ | mountain slopes. (Koril is like the Foothills of the Alps: Broad, | ||
+ | fertile valleys between mountains gradually getting bigger as you go | ||
+ | south. Rocky slopes). Her father, Torvad, was the village carpenter | ||
+ | and general fixit-man. She was the second youngest with two older | ||
+ | brothers, Gan and Will, and an older sister Diana. Torvad was a good, | ||
+ | hard-working father, teaching his trade to his sons, but leaving his | ||
+ | daughters mostly to their mother until she died bringing the youngest | ||
+ | brother, Dirnwald, into the world. Ardith was seven at the time. Ardith | ||
+ | had learned some lore of herbs and mushrooms from her mother, and with | ||
+ | or without her mother often visited the village " | ||
+ | spinster wise in healing, herb-lore and the casting of minor clerical | ||
+ | spells. The old woman was pleased at Ardith' | ||
+ | and taught her much. | ||
+ | |||
+ | With the death of her mother, Ardith spent more and more time with | ||
+ | old Varnis, until that woman finally began to teach her the secret arts | ||
+ | of clerical concentration Two years after the death of his wife, | ||
+ | Torvad decided to re-marry, and chose Puline, the beautiful but spoiled | ||
+ | daughter of the blacksmith, just fifteen years old, and barely a year | ||
+ | older than her brother, Gan. This did not please Ardith at all. | ||
+ | Puline' | ||
+ | all of the work around the house, tending not only to the cleaning, the | ||
+ | chickens and the goat, but tending to her, Puline as well, while Puline | ||
+ | sat and drank Brandwine, drove Ardith further from her family. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Diana, now eleven, was becoming plump & attractive in the eyes of | ||
+ | the village' | ||
+ | only nine, grew jealous of her sister. She resolved to learn all she | ||
+ | could from old Varnis. The " | ||
+ | Meditation, concentrating on the reputed acts of Andritha. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Clearly the old woman still believed the old legends of the gods and | ||
+ | godesses, but she taught well. After another year, Ardith could heal | ||
+ | minor animal and human injuries. When the Gitane came through the | ||
+ | village that summer, Puline was pregnant, and Ardith told Varnis that | ||
+ | she was determined to go with the Gitane and leave the village forever. | ||
+ | Varnis tried to convince her to stay, warning her of the dangers of | ||
+ | travel, but Ardith was adamant. Finally, Varnis spoke to the wife of | ||
+ | the leader of the Gitane, and asked her to take Ardith under wing until | ||
+ | they reached Zadothar, the next town of any size, and there to deliver | ||
+ | her to the Chief Adept atthe Temple of Andritha. Some silver passed | ||
+ | hands. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her adventures and misadventures getting to, and living in Zadothar | ||
+ | could make a short story, but in the end, Ardith became a Cleric of | ||
+ | Andritha, of the order of the Ortilauf. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Later additions == | ||
+ | |||
+ | After their show no longer produced enough revenue, the Gitane broke | ||
+ | camp and moved out of the village, richer by a small sack of silver | ||
+ | gleaned from their entertainment of the villagers, and one young | ||
+ | healer. Keja, the leader' | ||
+ | respect for Varnis, the " | ||
+ | she had given her. Yet, Laetshi, her husband, felt differently. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Keep the silver, my love, and dump the Gorgio (pronounced Gah-joe) | ||
+ | girl at the next village. She is too skinny for child-bearing, | ||
+ | not the cunning to ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Hold thy tongue, you old horse. Was not this girl put into our | ||
+ | hands by Varnis, the conjuror of that village? | ||
+ | cross my palms with silver? Would you chance the displeasure of the Old | ||
+ | gods? And what is this talk of child-bearing? | ||
+ | summers!" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Laetshi backed off, grumbling. | ||
+ | |||
+ | So it went, from village to village, while Ardith learned. She | ||
+ | learned a bit of the Romany language, the "old Tongue" | ||
+ | she learned the " | ||
+ | stones by which bands of Gitane left messages to be read by other | ||
+ | Gitane, about friendly and hostile villages, when they last passed, | ||
+ | and which way they were going. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Until, as the small caravan of ' | ||
+ | wagons, was attacked by a band of orcs as they crossed a pass. The | ||
+ | Gitane easily beat off the attackers, but Laetshi and his brother Janos | ||
+ | took wounds from arrows. Keja removed the arrows and bathed their | ||
+ | wounds in herbal teas, but the wounds continued to fester. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith said, "Keja, let me see the wounds." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Keja allowed her, and Ardith concentrated her powers, and cured both | ||
+ | Laetshi and Janos. The Gitane leader changed his tune after that. He | ||
+ | even offered her the honor, in his sight, of becoming his youngest | ||
+ | wife, but Ardith demurred, saying it was not for lack of love for the | ||
+ | Gitane leader, but that she wished to follow the advice of her teacher, | ||
+ | Varnis, and go to Zadothar to study her craft. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Eventually, the caravan arrived at Zadothar, there to spend the | ||
+ | winter away from the deep snows of the mountains. | ||
+ | Gitane gathered there, in an open square not far from the market. | ||
+ | They celebrated their reunion, and offered their attractions to the | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | few coppers or silvers. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Laetshi was unwilling to let Ardith go to the Temple - he wanted her | ||
+ | healing powers in his band. But at last, with Keja's help, she went | ||
+ | off to the Temple. There she met the Abess, Gutrin, and presented the | ||
+ | letter Varnis had written. Gutrin welcomed her. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith was given her own cell, with a clean bed, a desk and a bowl | ||
+ | of clean water. As good as she had at home. For the first time in the | ||
+ | two years since her mother died, Ardith felt safe and at home. Gutrin | ||
+ | seemed just like Varnis, just as kind, but wiser. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith proved to be an able student. She did well in all her studies | ||
+ | of concentration, | ||
+ | letters and numbers. But she was less successful with the martial arts, | ||
+ | showing ability only with the quarterstaff. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith' | ||
+ | studies, made friends among both the young men and women students. | ||
+ | |||
+ | That is, until Ardith was raped. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She and three other students went to town to shop for the upcoming | ||
+ | Feast. It was Market Day, and the square was even more crowded than | ||
+ | usual with visitors there for the Feast. The students separated to find | ||
+ | the things they would buy for the Feast. Ardith was looking for bright | ||
+ | cloth to use to make a costume. She was now thirteen and it was to be | ||
+ | the first year she would be allowed to dance in the streets on Feast | ||
+ | Day. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As she was examining the wares of a toothless old woman, a burly, | ||
+ | dirty man with rotting teeth came up behind her and caught her by the | ||
+ | wrists. Forcing them up behind her back, he marched her into a crooked | ||
+ | alley. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Fortunately, | ||
+ | marshalled the rest of the students to run to help her. By the time | ||
+ | they arrived, however, the attacker had bent Ardith face down over a | ||
+ | watering trough, lifted her robe over her back, kicked her feet apart, | ||
+ | and with her wrists still clamped behind her back, had roughly and | ||
+ | painfully taken her virginity. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her friends knocked the attacker down and pummeled him with their | ||
+ | staves, cudgels and fists. They meant to take him back to the Temple to | ||
+ | the Abbot and Abess for punishment, but before they reached the | ||
+ | seminary he managed to give them the slip and was gone into the crowd. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Abess took the weeping Ardith to the bath and let her soak in | ||
+ | hot herbal water. While Ardith' | ||
+ | her about the difference between love and lust, and about the herbs | ||
+ | that prevent pregnancy. She was going to administer some, but when she | ||
+ | examined Ardith she determined that the man had not inseminated her. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Thanks to the Abess, her student friends and the Abbot, Ardith | ||
+ | recovered quickly -- physically at least. She resolved that she would | ||
+ | no longer allow herself to be so helpless, and made great progress in | ||
+ | her ability with the quarterstaff, | ||
+ | interest in the martial spells. She also learned to be an excellent | ||
+ | markswoman with the sling. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith did not dance at the Feast that year, nor for three years | ||
+ | thereafter. As eager to do so as she had been before, she was equally | ||
+ | reluctant thereafter. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | At sixteen, she was already the best healer in the Temple after | ||
+ | Gutrin herself. One day, a badly injured Wizard was brought to the | ||
+ | Temple. He was close to death. The man had been stabbed by an orc-blade | ||
+ | and been badly burned. He had lost much blood. Gutrin had the | ||
+ | unconscious mage carried to an empty cell and called Ardith to assist | ||
+ | her. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The most urgent matter was to stop the blood loss, clean and close | ||
+ | the stab wound, then to clean and seal the worst of the burns. Ardith | ||
+ | and the Abess had to cut the charred tatters of his robes from his body | ||
+ | and peel strips of partly burned cloth from his flesh before they could | ||
+ | begin their healing. His hair and beard had been singed all but off, | ||
+ | and they cut away what was left and washed away the soot. His face had | ||
+ | not been too badly burned, and Ardith noticed that he was a good- | ||
+ | looking man in his early thirties, younger than she had first thought. | ||
+ | |||
+ | They worked for hours to heal the worst of his wounds. They didn't | ||
+ | cover him for fear the linens would irritate the burns, instead they | ||
+ | lit a fire to warm the cell. Despite their healing spells, his hands | ||
+ | were still bad, so they wrapped them up in herbs. Ardith remained in | ||
+ | the cell to watch over her charge while Gutrin arranged for food to be | ||
+ | brought to her. | ||
+ | |||
+ | During the night the mage regained consciousness and Ardith got some | ||
+ | herb tea into him, to replenish his fluids and also to ease the pain. | ||
+ | She learned that his name was Orodin. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ardith kept a round-the-clock vigil, eating and sleeping in the | ||
+ | convalescent' | ||
+ | entire week while Orodin slowly recovered. Since his hands had been so | ||
+ | very badly burned, she had to do everything for him. Yes, everything. | ||
+ | She bathed the wounds with healing potions. She fed him hand to mouth, | ||
+ | mostly bread, broth and herbal infusions to aid the healing. And, she | ||
+ | had to assist him in relieving himself. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This last was a stuggle for Ardith. Not only did it bring back | ||
+ | memories of her rape, but also it was the first time in her life that | ||
+ | she had touched a man's privates. But somehow she managed, and actually | ||
+ | the experience helped to defuse some of the hurt and anger she still | ||
+ | harbored. | ||
+ | |||
+ | They became friends. Orodin was much taken with the young Ardith, | ||
+ | and, though embarassed at his total helplessness, | ||
+ | healing and welcomed her presence, her company and intelligent | ||
+ | conversation. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It was on the day the bandages came off his hands that Ardith told | ||
+ | Orodin of her having been raped. She broke down and cried about it for | ||
+ | the first time since the day it had happened. Now it was the patient' | ||
+ | turn to comfort the healer. He held her in his arms and stroked her | ||
+ | hair with his still painful hands while Ardith wept. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When Gutrin stopped by a bit later to relieve Ardith for a few | ||
+ | minutes, Orodin spoke to her in the Old Tongue. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | from the rape she endured? Her body is healed, but her soul remains in | ||
+ | torment. Cast thou, please, thy best spell of healing upon her instead | ||
+ | of on me. If it mean longer suffering for me, so be it. I will heal. | ||
+ | But yonder young woman may not." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Gutrin replied, " | ||
+ | and did not see her anguish. It has been three years since she was old | ||
+ | enough to dance at the Feasts, yet at Feast Days she sulks in her | ||
+ | rooms. She needs not only healing, which I shall give her, but also a | ||
+ | gentle man so that she know that all men are not beasts. I see that you | ||
+ | are such. Be good to her, Orodin." | ||
+ | |||
+ | The mage merely nodded. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When Ardith returned, Gutrin applied her spell. Ardith blinked | ||
+ | twice and staggered a bit, but showed no other sign of anything having | ||
+ | happened. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Despite that Orodin was nearly healed, Ardith kept visiting his | ||
+ | cell, spending her spare time from her studies and duties looking over | ||
+ | the mage, bringing him herbs, poultices and extra food. They talked | ||
+ | long and far into the night. | ||
+ | |||
+ | One day, Gutrin found Ardith in the herb pantry, mixing a | ||
+ | contraceptive potion. She made no remark, but after a few minutes she | ||
+ | went to Orodin' | ||
+ | door. She smiled when she saw Ardith, naked, squatting over the equally | ||
+ | naked mage's hips, her body undulating slowly, and both of them | ||
+ | uttering moans and groans of pleasure. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Gutrin smiled, knowing that Ardith was healed of her hurt from the | ||
+ | rape, and had learned the pleasure of her womanhood. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When, at last, Orodin was completely healed, he called for Ardith. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "My young and beautiful healer," | ||
+ | go and resume my battle against the forces of evil." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | and grow stronger." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Orodil smiled and lapsed into Sarnam, "Thou sayest not, but I hear | ||
+ | thee say, 'stay and love me more.' My love, my very dear love, know | ||
+ | that thou art my heart' | ||
+ | hast comforted my soul. Thou hast been healer, friend, lover. But my | ||
+ | quest calls unto me. I must go to meet Evil. Were I but a farmer or | ||
+ | smith, I could -- and would -- stay with thee in bliss forever. But I | ||
+ | am sworn to my quest. Know that I love thee. Fare thee well." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | too have a mission. I shall miss thee. I love thee with all my heart." | ||
+ | |||
+ | They made love for the last time that night, for Orodil returned to | ||
+ | battle, and was killed while thwarting an evil spell, thereby saving | ||
+ | the army of the King. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Notes ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Stops to pick herbs when in medows. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Aristocratic she isn't, however, as she has been with the order | ||
+ | for eight years, I think we can consider her educated. Unlike most | ||
+ | people of her background, she can read and write, and knows Sarnam. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||